Wheel of Fortune player misses out on rare $1 million prize

A contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” missed out on winning a million dollars in his second week as host of the popular game show, Ryan Seacrest.

In Monday night's episode, player Vivian Tran lost the grand prize because she was missing a word in the nerve-wracking puzzle.

“My heart is racing, this is a first for me,” Seacrest said during the bonus round. “You're playing for $1 million.”

Fans of “Wheel of Fortune” blame Ryan Seacrest for his contestant losing the chance to win a million dollars

Tran also received a placeholder for another letter.

Seacrest, who replaced longtime host Pat Sajak, explained that the game show had replaced the usual $100,000 envelope with a $1 million envelope.

Tran then spun a small wheel containing the envelopes containing the prizes and randomly selected one.

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The puzzle category was “What are you doing?” and Tran chose the letters C, H, M, I and P.

After “Wheel of Fortune” co-host Vanna White revealed the correct letters, the player selected them on the puzzle board, and the prompt read “_ _ _ ERING S _ ME HELP.”

Pat Sajak's name was left out of Ryan Seacrest's Wheel of Fortune debut after the former host was seen with Vanna White

The Wheel of Fortune player admitted she was “nervous” before making several attempts to solve the puzzle. (ABC/Wheel of Fortune/YouTube)

Tran admitted that she was “nervous” before making several attempts to solve the puzzle.

“You need help? You need help? You find help? You are looking for help? You are looking for help?”

When the answer to the Wheel of Fortune puzzle was “offer help,” Tran initially seemed frustrated and emotional.

When Seacrest revealed that her envelope contained the one million dollar prize, she put her head in her hands.

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Tran seemed moved when the correct solution to the puzzle was revealed. (ABC/Wheel of Fortune/Instagram)

“They were so close to the million dollars,” Seacrest said after showing the envelope. “They almost had it.”

Although Tran was shocked to miss out on the grand prize, she was in good spirits and still took home $27,300 and a trip to Europe.

“The stakes are already at an all-time high this season and it’s only Week 2,” read the caption on the official Wheel of Fortune Instagram account.

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After the Wheel of Fortune player's loss, Sajak's daughter Maggie interviewed her about her time on the show.

Tran admitted that her mother had doubts about her participating in the show, but she proved otherwise and still managed to go home with prize money and a trip to Europe.

“It turned out great, a little painful, but I'm grateful for the opportunity,” Tran said.

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She further explained: “I knew the last two words… but the first one… I couldn't remember the syllables.”

“It was 10 seconds, and when I got to the eighth second I just thought 'Ugh' and I had missed it.”

Seacrest replaced longtime host Pat Sajak after his retirement earlier this year. (Instagram by Ryan Seacrest)

Fans of “Wheel of Fortune” were also disappointed that the player could not win the main prize.

“It was painful to see the millions lost tonight,” said one comment under Maggie's Instagram video.

Another comment read: “Ouch.”

“WOOOO! There's something special about the word 'OUT' and the envelope containing the grand prize… Excellent work Vivian!!,” wrote one fan.

The last contestant to win the $1 million prize was in 2014. In October 2021, former Sabrina the Teenage Witch artist Melissa Joan Hart won the jackpot during an episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

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